Critters and Spectacles

zoos, again

With my recent blogging on pandas, elephants and zoos, I LOVED this little tipsheet on zoo exhibits from The Onion. If you visit that site, you'll notice that Tanzania has lost rights to its name to a tanning salon in Tampa: TANzania! Here's my favorite quote:

Yeltzer said he didn't realize that the African country existed until July 2001, when a routine Internet search brought the nation to his attention. Yeltzer said he created the name for Tanzania Salons by merging the words "tan" and "zany" to suggest a lighthearted, fun approach to indoor-tanning retail. "When you come to a Tanzania location, you know you're in for an out-of-the-ordinary tanning experience," Yeltzer said. "Our salons are famous for their casual but professional atmosphere. Last year, four million customers visited Tanzania Salons. Can the country of Tanzania make that claim?"

Indeed.